Monday, 05 April 2021_Met Police suppresses ‘Kill the Bill’ protest with over 100 arrests
According to the Met Police, which is responsible for enforcing law and order in the British capital, 107 people were arrested at the protest on various charges, including violent disorder, assault on police and breaches of Covid-19 legislation.
The large protest in central London comes in the wake of sustained protests in Bristol which saw pitched battles between police and local people angry at proposed government legislation intended to crack down on so-called “disruptive” protests.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, gives police forces and the broader criminal justice system wide-ranging new powers, most controversially the ability to impose stringent conditions on non-violent protests.
Former Labor Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, lent his support to the protesters in central London on Saturday.
Speaking in Parliament Square, Corbyn brought up the defiant examples of the suffragettes and Nelson Mandela as he beseeched the crowd to oppose the draconian bill.
Describing the bill as a “very dangerous, slippery slope”, Corbyn implored people to “stand up for the right to protest, stand up for the right to have your voice heard”.